AP source: White Sox's Williams, Hahn promoted

CHICAGO – The White Sox are promoting general manager Ken Williams and assistant GM Rick Hahn, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team had not made an official announcement. That will come at a news conference scheduled for today.

It was not clear what exactly their new job titles will be.

Williams is the fourth-longest tenured GM in baseball at the moment. He just completed his 12th season, a run that included a championship in 2005 that ended an 87-year drought along with another division title in 2008.

Hahn has been credited with negotiating contracts with Paul Konerko, John Danks, Alexei Ramirez and Gavin Floyd along with evaluating and signing first-round picks Gordon Beckham (2008) and Chris Sale (2010) during his 12 seasons in the organization.

The Sox have been consistent contenders during that span, finishing at or above .500 nine times.

New job titles aside, the Sox have some big decisions to make after making a surprising run at the AL Central title. They spent 117 days in first place but ultimately fell short, finishing three games behind Detroit at 85-77.

Now, some key players could be moving on.

The Sox can exercise a $22 million option on Jake Peavy or buy him out for $4 million. If they decide to buy him out, they might try to bring him back at a lower rate, but he also figures to draw interest on the open market after a strong rebound season. The 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner put aside three injury-riddled years to make 32 starts, posting a 3.37 ERA and going 11-12.

Kevin Youkilis also could be on the move, with the White Sox not expected to pick up the third baseman's option after acquiring him from Boston in late June. A.J. Pierzynski is eligible for free agency and is coming off a big year. The veteran catcher set a career high with 27 homers this season and matched a career best with 77 RBIs while hitting .278.